


a pentecost of holy nate-tramony

by snivellus (queervulcan)



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Carnival, Competition, Double proposal, M/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-07
Updated: 2018-06-07
Packaged: 2019-05-19 08:06:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14869928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queervulcan/pseuds/snivellus
Summary: on rain slick concrete, the street lights look fuzzy and morphed together(that’s what the inside of drift partners looks like)





	a pentecost of holy nate-tramony

**Author's Note:**

> just a zine piece I got permission to publish before it was actually put in the zine

When Nate had suggested going to a carnival, Jake hadn’t thought much of it at the time. He knew from their residual drift that Nate had a playful, surprisingly impulsive side. It was a side effect of their drift, Jake was sure, because now almost a year later he has found it is easier to rise and his temper is less likely to rear its head.

The day is perfect, with just a few clouds soaring listlessly across the sky, and Jake feels a flush arise on his cheeks as he sees Nate look around, badly hidden trepidation and disgust wrinkling his forehead.

“Mate, if you keep frowning like that, you’ll get permanent wrinkles.”

Nate rolls his eyes, fond, but acquiesce. Jake knows Nate wanted to come to have a relaxing date, one that Jake painfully thinks they haven’t had before- before the world almost ended again. The all-too familiar pain sears through him, but he pushes it away, thinking of the heavy ring box in his PPDC issued uniform pants. 

It’s a simple silver band, one with his and Nate’s initials engraved along the inside, along with their anniversary date. 

The rides are fun, exhilarating more so in that he gets to see Nate act his age and relax- he is all bright smiles, and brighter laughter, and Jake cannot help but cling on to his arm and laugh right back.

It is relaxing, in it’s own way, to feed Nate fried oreos and greasy fries with his fingers and see him give allowance in such an intimate, vulnerable way. 

They don’t hit a road bump until the night starts to creep in, the festival turning their neon lights on. They make their way around the carnival games, with Jake  _ insisting  _ that they stop at booth, despite Nate’s countering that the games are rigged and he is only losing money.

Jake chuckles nervously each time, patting Nate a bit too hard on the back, and giving bows that are now second habit in apology. Nate isn’t wrong, but Jake won’t admit that to his face, only in drift fragments and when they’re absolutely sloshed. 

Jake  _ does  _ manage to win a toy at one point, a big, cuddle sized Otachi that has Nate sneering in disgust and Jake whooping in excitement. 

“I’m gonna name him Nate!”

Nate makes a sound of panic, eyes wide and suddenly wild, “If you do, I’ll just have to win my own wretched toy and call him Jake!”

“Wretched? Man, does anyone actually under the age of 60 use that? You sound like Doctor Gottlieb. Next thing I know you’ll be using reading glasses and saluting everyone. Okay, here’s this. I  _ dare  _ you to one up me. Go on, try and beat one of these games. But don’t get mad at me when you lose and I laugh.”

Nate narrows his eyes, mouth pinching in anger and irritation, and nods his head sharply. He marches off to the next game, a goldfish catching game, and Jake follows behind somewhat wobbly with the Kaiju in his arms. 

Jake almost wishes he had a polaroid with him, or even just a free hand, so he could take records of Nate’s heartbreakingly handsome face pressed in concentration, sometimes in mild annoyance, and once in confusion and shock when a little boy runs up to him to ask for an autograph. He is so bewildered he splutters a few words to the boy before high tailing it out, leaving Jake to perform damage control. 

Just as the last of the pink in the sky is washing out, and they are winding their way back to the ferris wheel, Jake decides now is a good time to propose. Suddenly, he is nervous, his palms simultaneously sweaty and clammy. 

When Nate was distracted trying to win a Jaeger- Cherno, specifically- he asked a bypasser if they could kindly record a video of them. They had looked confused for a few seconds, before dawning comprehension clouded their features and then they were eagerly nodding along.

With Nate lofting a Jaeger up in the air, face proud and smug, Jake resolutely gets to one knee in the damp, downtrodden grass. It feels like time was slipping from him, the neon lights of the ferris wheel reflecting on Nate’s suddenly slack face, the Jaeger tipping out of his hands and onto the dirt. 

Jake pulls the ring box out of his pocket, and Nate’s hands fly to his mouth, covering up a gasp and a sob alike. 

“Mate-” Jake grimaces, even more nervous, “Nate, I know we don’t always get along, but you’re my drift partner. You’re more than that, you’re my entire world. I never want to leave your side again, and I hope you say yes, because _god_ , I promise every day I’ll try to be the man you deserve.”

Nate ushers him up with shaking hands, slipping the ring on as he does, laughing and crying all at once, and suddenly Jake’s tear dam is wide open as well, and they are crying over each other, foreheads pressed in a pale imitation of their deepest connection. Nate pulls back, and Jake clenches his hands around his forearms, unwilling to let go so soon. 

He presses a kiss to Jake’s cheek, gently pushes Jake’s hands off, and digs around in his own pockets. 

“It’s funny you proposed- I was planning on doing the same.” In the red velvet box is a beautiful, yet simple gold band, and Jake inhales at the implications. He had dreamed of a double proposal, but didn’t imagine he would be lucky enough- and yet, here he was now.

“You- you-” Jake couldn’t form the words, so instead he took all he was feeling and pushed it through their ghost bond- all his fear, his giddiness, and most importantly his love. 

Nate smiles, nodding through his tears, gently pulling Jake’s left hand up so he can slip the ring on. Jake inhales, and Nate’s eyes widen as he knows  _ exactly  _ what he is about to do but is too slow to stop it. 

Jake pulls Nate into his arms, holding him up with one arm locked around his back, and one under his rump, and spins them around in a nauseating, warming hug. Their laughter rings jointly, and the crowd that had gathered cheers for them, ecstatic for the happy couple.

Jake spins them until Nate has his face buried in the crook of his neck, and his laughter is coming soft and wheezy. He sets him down gently, helping him stay upright when he sways, and they stay in each other’s  arms that way- foreheads pressed together, soft laughter and softer  _ i love you’s _ coming out of their mouths every other minute. 

When Jake briefly opens his eyes, it is to accept the cell phone back and to give a murmured thank you, but most of his attention is caught on Nate. The fluorescent catches his skin and makes him glow, nearly ethereal, and he knows, that despite their past trauma and rocky beginning, that they will be a force to be reckoned with. 


End file.
